A wrist-based optical blood pressure monitor has the potential to replace cuff monitoring systems for ambulatory blood pressure, suggests a study in the journal Blood Pressure Monitoring. A press release from Aktiia, the Swiss-based company manufacturing the device, states that the novel system uses the same sensors to measure heart rate as those used in wearable devices.
In the study, Cyril Pellaton (Hopital Neuchâtelois de Pourtalès, Neuchâtel, Switzerland) and colleagues enrolled 30 critical patient scheduled to undergo radial arterial catheterisation at an intensive care unit. After inclusion, the team compared “ground-truth” blood pressure measurements at the radial artery simultaneously with optical signals acquired at the contralateral wrist by a prototype of the Aktiia wearable device.
For systolic blood pressure, there was a mean difference (±SD) of 0.0±7.1mmHg between the arterial catheter and the optical device values, with 95% limits of agreement in the Bland-Altman method of -11.9 mmHg to +12.2mmHg (correlation r=0.87, p<0.001). For diastolic blood pressure, a mean difference of 0.0±2.9mmHg between arterial catheter and the optical device values was found, with 95% limits of agreement in the Bland-Altman method of -4.8mmHg to +5.5mmHg (r=0.98, p<0.001).
The press release says the results provide “clear and compelling evidence” on the reliability and accuracy of the optical blood pressure monitoring technology compared to currently accepted methods of blood pressure measurement. It adds that this represents “a major milestone in the clinical activities of company, contributing toward the company’s mission to bring easy, painless blood pressure monitoring to daily life”.
